SORGHUM. 47 



have died suddenly while grazing on second growth 

 sorghum. The exact cause or causes of such loss do 

 not appear to be well understood. It has been sur- 

 mised that death has been caused by some poisonous 

 element in the sorghum, and that frost may have 

 something to do with thus changing the character of 

 this splendid food. We must wait for a completely 

 satisfactory explanation, for it has not as yet been 

 forthcoming. In the meantime, caution should be 

 exercised in pasturing cattle on second growth sor- 

 ghum, especially late in the season. 



Caution should also be exercised when cattle or 

 sheep are first put upon sorghum pasture. There is 

 some danger from hoven or bloat, but not nearly so 

 much as with clover, or alfalfa. That, at least, has 

 been the experience of the Minnesota experiment sta- 

 tion. At the said station no instance of bloat 

 occurred from grazing on sorghum during the three 

 seasons of depasturing above referred to. Yet that 

 fact is not to be taken as positive evidence that sheep 

 will not suffer from bloat in all sections of the coun- 

 try and under all circumstances when pasturing on 

 sorghum. 



Sometimes cattle are turned in to graze upon 

 the sorghum after it has matured. This practice is 

 frequent in portions of the semi-arid country adja- 

 cent to the Rocky mountains, especially those por- 

 tions of the same that have mild winters. The cattle 

 do well on it, but the practice is a wasteful one. Yet 

 where land is cheap and labor dear, sometimes it may 

 be a proper thing to do. Of course, \vhere the winters 

 are severe the practice would be without justification. 



